There is no such thing as “one business structure fits all or even similar businesses’ and getting the business structure wrong can cost you in the long run. Don’t simply register a company and think that it is the best structure for you because everyone else is using it and you are in a hurry or to save a few dollars at the start. There are four main types of business structures used by small and medium sized businesses in Australia and in most cases using them in a combination may work in your favour in the long run. These four are: Company Trust Sole Trader Partnership Below are the…

It’s not that hard for business owners to make a decent living out of their business or for employees to reach a salary level that they are comfortable with. For business owners – we have an idea, we do a bit of research, start a business, start getting clients, service them reasonably well and the we make a good living. For employees – we get our first job, get experience, move on to a couple of more jobs, get a couple of promotions and again we make a good living. Most of us are however are just stuck there and though we want to go to the next level, we…

Being a business owner may be rewarding but owning a business comes with the responsibility of making sure that the business complies with various obligations. Below are the 7 things business’ are getting caught out on: Minimum wages. The current minimum wage is $694.90 per week ($18.29 per hour) and paying employees below that either intentionally or unintentionally can result in penalties. Annual Leave. All employees (except for casual employees) are entitled to annual leave. Full-time and part-time employees get 4 weeks of annual leave, based on their ordinary hours of work. The leave accumulates gradually during the year and any unused annual leave will roll over from year to year. Superannuation payment. Almost all employees…

There are people and businesses out there who are claiming to be the best at doing one thing or another and there are also those that are trying to get there but my advice to both the groups is to stop trying to be the best in the world and just try to be the best you can be. If you think it’s a race to the top and that you need to be at the top of the pile, you will just be running a rat race and you will soon find someone else who has a bigger house than the grand house you just built, a better product…

CLIENT QUESTION: I want to increase my bank balance (profits). How can I cut down my costs (expenses)? OUR ANSWER: There are lots of people out there who think that the only way we can increase profits in a business or bank balances (if you are an individual) is by cutting down the expenses we incur. This whole idea is flawed because it just focusses on expenses. People don’t seem to realise that there is only so much you can cut down in expenses. So instead of focussing on the expenses shift your focus to your income. Now income doesn’t have any upper limit does it? If you are making…

Fear and lack of confidence holds us all back. The fear of what would happen if you do something or lack of confidence in yourself knowing something can be done but not believing in yourself to be able to do it. We all have ideas that we are not sure would work or things that we don’t bring into motion as we are uncertain if they will be successful. Next time you have any of these thoughts, just ask yourself “What is the worst that can happen if I do this?” As long as the answer to the question is not “You will die”, then go ahead and do it. Have an idea that you…

There is way too much noise out there about businesses and their relationships with growth, technology, management, marketing, customer service, social responsibility, tax offices, etc. At times we need to just simply things and below is a simplistic four point view of what a business is all about: A business needs to find customers at start We then need to retain those customers and bring some stability in the business We then need to find more customers We need to grow our staff and operations without losing control of the business Simple as! A business can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it, make yours…